Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1887-10-21
a WEDGE TO SPLIT THE
SOUTH.

If the Republican party would
ride into power in 1888, it must go
into the fight with new and clar-
ion-sounding battle cry.
The struggle must be fought over
something else than the threadbare
issues of tariff, the war and pro-
hibition. 1t must be an issue which
affects the whole country, and not
combination Of sectional issues.
There must be one single plank,
big enough and sound enough ami
bread enough to hold nation of
broad-minded, country-loving men,
and not a lot of little .planks, each
intended separately as saps to the
Pacific Coast; to the Atlantic States;
to Wall street, Ohio, Indiana and
Pennsylvania.
In other words, the plank must
be one which no party has ever
dared to place in its platform, and
that is, the plank which will pro-
claim in solid, terse Anglo-Saxon,
that:
'sAmerica is for Americans.
This plank is the wedge which
will split the heretofore Sold South
and we can prove 1T to any fair
minded reader.
When the Southern States pro-
claimed themselves separate Re-
public they gave the world con-
stitution, and one of its principal
clauses placed a prohibition upon
foreigners, allowing none of them
to hold seats in the U. S. Senate,
and allowing none Of them to vote
except after a residence of 81 years.
When the movement they called
the "Know Nothing Movement"
was factor in politics, its greatest
strength was in the South, and
were this not the fact, the Confed-
crate Constitution endorsed by all
the Southern States, would never
have contained that plank. The
plank appealed to the intense pat
riotism and pride of birth of the
Southern people; pride of birth
that is proverbial.
The greatest strength the Know
Nothing party ever had was South
of the Mason & Dixon line, and it
is there today. The Democracy
dare not place an American plank
in their platform, for it would alien
ate the foreign vote, which is the
balance of power now in the United
States, and gain no new strength.
Ii the Republican party were to
adopt this American plank as its
leading issue it would call to its
standard at least one-third of the
Democratic vote, and lose nothing
by it. The majority of broad
minded Democrats are intense be-
levers in the American idea, be-
cause a Kentuckian loves a Ken
tuckian better than an Irishman, or
German, or an Italian.
Nor is it certain that this AmerI-
can plank would lose the Irish vote
if good strong anti-English Amer
lean were to head the ticket. The
Germans in the Middle States have
not voted with us for years.
Indeed, the APPEAL believes that
hosting an American standard at
the head of the party would so ap-
peal to every Americans patriotism
that the Democratic candidate would
only carry certain wards in New
York and wind up the fight with ar
insignificant minority of foreigners
The time is ripe for such a move.
ment. The hand writing on the
wall is beginning to show itself
and in 1883 the cry "America fol
Americans" ought to be the slogan
of the Republican party from sea te
sea. The time will have passed
when Americans will be obliged tc
crawl and cringe for the foreign
vote, and word will go across the
water that there are enough Ameri
can men and American women here
to complete and run this country.